I was in the bookstore the other day a purchased a book called “Gold Medal Fitness: A Revolutionary 5-Week Program”, which was authored by Dara Torres, a four-time-gold-medal-wining swimmer. Dara Torres is a 42-year-old mother who is in amazing shape and in the book; she is open about her twenties, which was a period in her life that she battled with the eating disorders bulimia and anorexia. Included in the book are 35 days of sample meal plans that are found in the chapter concerning the importance of eating healthy meals and having proper nutrition. I especially was interested in the chapter on training. I figured she would give helpful tips on training like and Olympian. The cover of the book that shows her very fit body is a good marketing tool because it lured me and I want my abs to look like hers.
In the book Dara Torres, she explains about muscle imbalances and how it affects the look and function of the body and your training. She also talks about years of training as a swimmer left some of her muscles overdeveloped while other were underdeveloped and how she worked with her trainer to offset that. With her trainer’s leading, she was able adjust her muscular imbalances. She also learned how her body overcompensated for the weaknesses in her body. Dara Torres was able to increase her muscle definition and strength, particularly in the core area, through specific training.
She talks about training with awareness and how important this is. Through this book, exercises are discussed that will strengthen the legs, core, and increase stability, alignment and balance, which are all outlined in five groups of three exercises. Her workout program can be done in the gym and you can start by doing five sets of five reps for each movement and then take a break of 3 minutes between sets. A good example would be BOSU balancing squats with dumbbells and body weight squats. She also talks about balancing muscle groups when stretching because each muscle has an equivalent balancing muscle. She explains that both muscles need stretching and how they are responsible for the relaxation and contraction of that specific muscle.
“The Gold Medal Fitness: A Revolutionary 5-Week Program” is a relatively easy book to follow as she explains the methodology very well and only took me an hour to read. This book will help you increase stability, coordination, flexibility, and strength through real-life movements. The following are items needed to perform the exercises outlined in the book:
• A towel
• A Swiss ball
• A BOSU trainer
• A yoga mat
• Dumbbell equaling 5-15 pounds
Dara Torres’ book is a real inspiration to those who want to get fit and more importantly those who have battled eating disorders can know that they can not only over come it but lead a healthy and normal life.
You can read a much more detailed version of this article: [http://www.thehealthauthority.com/weightloss-product-reviews/gold-medal-fitness-a-revolutionary-5-week-program-by-dara-torres/]
